The In Crowd

Tropicália in Furs, a hole-in-the-wall Brazilian record shop in the East Village, is the kind of place New Yorkers worry will disappear from the city forever. A tiny alternate universe where Technicolor dots bounce off glossy LP covers by Os Mutantes, the Cramps, and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, it's never crowded or empty, and the same affable connoisseur is always behind the counter.

Joel (pronounced "jo-EL") Olveira, whose old-school afro and proto-hip-hop wardrobe make him look younger than his 36 years, opened the store's first incarnation five years ago in a flooded basement on the Bowery under the motto "Buy, Sell, Barter, Chit-Chat," quickly attracting a following with his warm demeanor and overflowing knowledge of late-'60s psychedelic Brazilian rock. Among serious collectors and DJs, word began to spread about the unequaled treasures Olveira kept hidden in a crate in the back of the store—possibly the best collection of obscure Tropicália singles on earth.

Click here for more from The Village Voice.

Online:

Tropicália in Furs

I featured this great retro soul cut on Stones Throw before but this is the official video!

Online:

Mayer Hawthorne - Stones Throw site

Of course the fact that the first version of these buildings are being built in Moscow and Dubai make me a lot less enthusiastic about this concept.

[via my Mom and T-Six]

Eisa is an old college friend of mine. She's been working on this project, which opened a couple days ago, for a while. The video above is her talking about what it is exactly. Click here for more details.

Interesting!

"In what will be his first major solo presentation of his works, Scott Campbell will showcase his unique aesthetic via sculptures, paintings, drawings and photography at the 'Make it Rain' exhbit at the O.H.W.O.W. gallery in Miami, FL today."

Click here for more info. [via A Tribe Called Next]

The popular mass market but hip UK clothing chain finally opens their first store in the US. Read more about it here.

Online:

Topman US site |  Topshop US site

Looks promising but can this compete with the ipod touch? We'll see....

[via nme.com]

[nme.com via Idolator]

Online:

PrettyGreen.com

Spotted on the homepage of MSN after I logged out of my ebay hotmail account a few minutes ago. Designed by Architect, Kyu Sung Woo, this is really nice. Click here for more and to see a slideshow of the house including more interior shots.

[via DJ Vlad]

Notes on this track:

"This record was released in June of 1969 and produced by James Brown. Marva Whitney was known as Soul Sister #1."

The title is accurate though - this track is FIYA! Jay-Z and Just Blaze need to get at this track for Blueprint 3, stat! Dilla (R.I.P.) could have wrecked this track too! [via AHH's Grouchy Greg]

More:

RareSoul.com - YouTube

Notes on the video:

"The footage was apparently filmed by some students back in '67, showing a typical night at the mod club of the day (in Halifax that is). The film was funded by the BBC and apparently still sits in the BBC archives in its entirety."

Only flaw to the clip is the overlay of an (admittedly nice) track by The Impressions in the background instead of leaving whatever the original music was playing when the footage was shot. Still an amazing clip though if you are into 60's mod culture. [clip via Mod Culture, natch!]

From the NY Times:

"They made trips to Italy, where Kiton apparel is carefully sewn by hand and doled out to retailers in modest quantities. Gradually, they were able to offer a limited selection in places like Beverly Hills and Chicago. Finally, Saks’s dream of opening a sumptuous Kiton boutique in New York came true — just in time for the worst recession in 70 years.

The people who run Saks are only a tiny bit sheepish about introducing such costly garments at such a dire moment.

“These are decisions that are made with significant advance planning,” said Ronald L. Frasch, president and chief merchandising officer for Saks. He emphasized that he would not undo the decision even if he could.

“A store like Saks needs to have the best product available,” Mr. Frasch said. “And I do think the man who wants to present himself in a certain way, he’s still out there.”"

Is he right? Somehow I doubt it. Click here for the full article. [NY Times]

From F.Luxury.B:

"Documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler followed Anna Wintour and her Vogue team for nine months as they put together the 2007 September issue. The film, titled The September Issue, screens at Sundance this weekend. With seemingly unreal access, Cutler followed Anna and her team to Fashion Weeks around the world, to photo shoots, to visits with designers like Vera Wang and Nicolas Ghesquière. But mostly, they were in the Vogue offices. In this two-minute taste of the movie, we see scenes of Anna working in her office with her team."

Click here for more details.